Tales of the Common Rooms
by AnnabethLuna
Summary: Many of Harry's interactions at Hogwarts take place in the Gryffindor common room. We have seen much of the room and know what it - and Gryffindor House - is like. But what about the others? The ambitious Slytherins? The loyal Hufflepuffs? The ingenious Ravenclaws? This three-chapter story explores the other three common rooms, and the lifestyles of those who live in them.
1. Slytherin

**Slytherin**

Most of the first years who are sorted into Slytherin have been prepared for this their whole lives. They are high society people, after all. They come from money, wealth, and tradition. Whether or not their families believe in blood supremacy, they are most often people who have risen to the top and managed to stay there. Their children were born into this tradition, and have been raised with it. As such, most of them are prepared for Slytherin – and even those without the tradition behind it are of the sort who know what they want and are willing to do what they need to get there.

So they're all excited and ready – thought trying not to show it – to begin their lives as Slytherins. However, at their first entry into the common room many of them lose that excitement.

It looks cold, after all – cold and eerie and hard. It doesn't seem a welcoming environment at all, and for these nervous, tired eleven-year-olds it hardly seems like home.

But as they begin to get to know their Housemates and their common room, they realize that – despite its first impression – Slytherin House is the place where they belong after all, and the common room shows that.

First of all, it's obvious right from the start that Slytherin is the House for people who know what they want. Many of the other Houses are taken off guard by career counseling in fifth year. Not so the Slytherins – for them, this starts in first year. It's reinforced to the students that they don't have to decide what they'll do for the rest of their lives just _yet_, but there is also no rest for the ambitious. Every student must devise a plan to stay in school and take the subjects he or she wants to take – and everyone must do this alone. There will be meetings with career counselors later on – either the Head of House, or a private counselor hired by the family (and for those who lack the money, other students will be willing to chip in) – but from the very beginning, the students know that they must always be on their guard, always be looking to their futures.

There's also an emphasis on self-sufficiency in Slytherin. As such, hazing in dorms is common – but once the younger students "pass" and prove themselves strong enough to take the torment and fight back, the older students become their closest friends and allies. Slytherins strategize together, after all, and this creates a deep-seated loyalty between members of the House that's hard to beat.

This determination for self-sufficiency lends itself to self-defense. Lockhart's "dueling club" was a joke to the Slytherins, who have one which has compulsory attendance for at least the first two years. The Slytherins do not rest until they know that everyone in their House has at least an elementary level of skill at dueling and self-defense – and the half-bloods and ones with Muggle relatives will teach Muggle fighting, too, just in case someone is caught wandless. For the most part, the Slytherins dislike anything Muggle, but they see the practicality of this approach to teaching – and if it helps, then it's worth the lowering of their standards (as they see it).

As far as studying and learning go, the Slytherins have tables up for studying in the common room. When people have questions, they're always welcome to ask an older student – but the older students will try to avoid answering directly. Rather than providing answers or explanations, they'll give hints that will hopefully lead the struggling person to find the answer on his or her own.

Because they're determined for their House members to be able to hold their own in the real world as well as in Hogwarts, Slytherin parties are slightly different from those of the other Houses. While Gryffindor parties are loud, raging, and often drunken; Hufflepuff parties are cozy and comfortable; and Ravenclaw parties often devolve into discussions, if they happen at all; Slytherins hold much more dignified parties. Theirs are cocktail parties, in which everyone who attends wears dress robes and sips wine and champagne and asks the others probing questions about their personal lives – even if they already know the answers.

These parties are not only a way to have fun – because most of the Slytherins genuinely enjoy dressing up and eating expensive food – but they're also a practice for the life that most of these people will lead. They come from money, after all, and tradition. They need to know how to defend themselves against gossip, how to drink socially and responsibly, and how to handle themselves in polite society. These parties ensure that all these young people will grow up knowing how to behave and how to ask the right questions to get information and give the right answers to keep their business private. These parties are an entertaining way for them to practice for the lives that they will all someday lead.

However, the Head of House does not often venture into the Slytherin common room. Snape never comes, and even Slughorn is rarely there – much preferring the comforts of his office. And it is for this reason – their independence and lack of supervision – that after a few hours, Slytherin parties invariably become a little more like those often seen in Gryffindor House. People get a little wilder, a little less composed, and a little more drunk. Luckily, enough people have the sense to block sound outside of the common room so that no one can hear what will happen, and even drunk most Slytherins have the presence of mind not to do anything too moronic. But that doesn't mean that they don't have fun.

Slytherins, for all their ambitions, can be wickedly amusing. The common room, for instance, is a dangerous place to be on April Fools' Day. The cunning nature of most Slytherins makes them excellent at jokes and pranks, and only on this day are they willing to lower themselves to play them. Clever booby-traps await anyone unfortunate enough to stumble into them all over the common room. Everywhere, practiced liars are spouting out well-rehearsed stories. On this day, all dignity disappears from Slytherin House, and although they manage to preserve their façade in the face of the other Houses, in the common room it all falls away.

The Slytherin common room is cold and stiff, but filled with underlying motives and hidden excitements perfect for those who live there. It is a place where ambition and self-sufficiency are welcomed and celebrated, where people can strategize and learn, and where they become more prepared than anywhere else to face real life outside of Hogwarts. Although it may seem frightening at first, is a place that most students soon come to recognize as home.


	2. Hufflepuff

**Hufflepuff**

The Hufflepuff common room is warm, earthy, and cozy. It's almost like a den, just like the badger that is its symbol. There is always a warm fire in the hearth, but it's never roaring – the flames are low but crackling merrily, and they extend warmth to the whole room, both literally and in ambience.

Instead of armchairs, the floor is littered with beanbag chairs and fleece blankets in yellow and black. People can simply collapse onto the floor after a hard day of class without worrying about bruises or disappointment. Everything about the room promotes affection and coziness. Group hugs are common occurrences, and although some of the first years are tentative at first, older students don't hesitate to dole out hugs or chocolates when needed.

Hufflepuff House has an ongoing Big Brother/Big Sister program – sign-up sheets, kind notes, and requests are tacked up on the giant bulletin board against one wall. All first years – unless they wish to abstain – are assigned "siblings" from the upper years who will check in with them, walk them to their classes, show them the way to the kitchens, and keep them company when they appear alone. If you are a Big Brother or Big Sister and your younger sibling is sitting alone, it is your responsibility to go sit with them unless they say that they want to be alone.

The program was set up for first years, but it often goes beyond – creating bonds between younger and older students, setting up mentor or friend relationships that last lifetimes. It's not uncommon for these students to become close friends – or, even if they drift out of touch, to see a seventh year in desperate need of help penning a letter to someone who left school years ago.

Hot chocolate is a staple in the Hufflepuff common room, and because they're so close to the kitchens it's easy to procure. Cakes, too, and other sweets, and any other kind of comfort food. Most Hufflepuffs end up befriending the house-elves and sometimes spending hours in the kitchens, just drinking tea or nibbling on snacks and talking to the house-elves.

Their favorite, though, is when Professor Sprout comes in with her teas. They're never laced with potions, but made from exotic or delicious herbs with different effects. There are stimulating teas to help wake people up when they're drowsy from studying, calming teas that allow them to breathe deeper and stress less, and some that have no other effects than simply tasting wonderful.

Professor Sprout spends more time in her common room than any other Head of House. She has her official office hours for any students who need to see her, but otherwise she likes to spend evenings either in the greenhouses or in the common room. She's the most approachable of all the Hogwarts professors, and always has her ears open if students want to talk to her.

Because it's so helpful to talk to her, and because she's such a good listener, the Hufflepuffs have started a counseling program in their House. Every week, Professor Sprout and any students who need it will have a group therapy session where people can discuss things that need discussing. It's always a very open and accepting environment, and Professor Sprout and the experienced older students make sure that everyone feels completely safe at all times. Students from the other Houses are welcome, too, and it becomes a symbol of inter-house unity – people from all Houses working together to create a safe space for everyone there.

Students have been so inspired by these group sessions that many of them have become unofficial counselors themselves – there to help other students who need them. They realize they're enforcing the stereotype of their House, but as far as they're concerned there couldn't be a better stereotype to enforce.

On the far wall of the common room, the first one you see when you enter the room, is a huge display of student art. Drawings on parchment, nice canvases provided by the Muggle-born students, enchanted canvases that allow the artwork to move. The art is anything from hastily-scratched stick figures to abstract paintings to precise, lifelike drawings. Photographs are there, too – Wizarding and Muggle, artful and sentimental, black-and-white and color.

Every week, too, all of Hufflepuff House does something together. Whether a night of playing games together, or a singalong, or an evening of baking cakes and cookies in the kitchen, they make sure to spend bonding time together on large projects as a way of promoting House unity. It provides a nice study break for older students, and a way to help assimilate younger ones into the House and into the school as a whole. Of course, people don't have to attend these activities, but almost everyone does. Some people hold out for a while, but eventually they begin to realize that they feel left out of something important.

When they try to enter, though, it's always easy. Hufflepuffs are wonderful at diffusing tension and making others feel welcome.

At Christmas, too, the Hufflepuffs always have a Secret Santa. No one is required to take part; this rule was mostly created for those who do not celebrate Christmas, but for the most part everyone does it anyway. Hufflepuff is the House that most celebrates the spirit of giving, and everyone puts a great deal of thought and care into their presents. On Christmas Day, the presents are labeled and placed under the giant Christmas tree that's always in the corner of the common room; for those who are at home, they're sent off by school owls so they won't know who sent it.

No one is required to reveal their identity, but the others usually wheedle it out of them anyway. Hufflepuffs are sad at the thought of generosity going unrewarded, and often hug and thank their Secret Santas enthusiastically.

Before exams, when people (particularly fifth and seventh years) are wound tight with stress and ready to snap, the other students are always there to provide hugs, candy, and stress balls as needed. If you're afraid of failing, the others in Hufflepuff will always be there to talk you down and remind you how wonderful you are, to remind you that you are valid.

Hufflepuff, after all, is the House of acceptance, the House of giving and caring – a House where no one is turned away, and where everyone can find comfort and happiness and friends.


	3. Ravenclaw

**Ravenclaw**

The Ravenclaw common room is huge and versatile, and it's a good thing, because they need the space.

The room is open and airy, to let creativity flow free. It's a good thing they all have wands, because there are the people obsessed with preserving space, the people in thrall of feng shui, the people who need to set up all kinds of experiments, and the room is constantly being arranged. The one thing that no one does, though, is block the windows. They love the sight of the mountains by day and the stars at night, and seeing them can suddenly prompt a flow of inspiration in a previously-blocked mind.

In the spaces between the windows, there are bookshelves, tall and deep and with Undetectable Engorgement Charms on them so that all the books will fit. When they need to get a book out, it's much too time-consuming to search all the way through the bookshelf, so they just use a simple Summoning Charm. Occasionally, this causes an avalanche of books to the floor that then need to be reshelved. The prefects keep talking about finding some kind of better system, but the truth is that no one wants to – because whenever the avalanche falls, the students swarm to it. Often they'll find books they've forgotten about, or new ones that suddenly strike their fancy.

The room is divided into three sections: the silent section, the spoken section, and the place for experiments. The silent section is mostly populated by fifth and seventh years, or people who really need to study. But in the two weeks before exams, the silent section is expanded so that everyone who needs it can have the quiet that they want.

The experimental section is filled with people trying to create their own spells or tweak potions they've already learned. Sometimes it involves loud bangs and explosions – despite their best efforts, there are still a few stubborn stains on the ceiling. No one can see them because they simply paint over them. Some people, knowing that they're there and incessantly bothered by this problem that they haven't solved, still try to desperately devise a way to get the magical stains out of the ceiling, while others – often Muggle-borns – deplore the wizards' refusal to accept simple solutions.

The speaking section is filled with many small tables, each for different purposes. People who don't have serious studying to do often choose to spend time in the speaking section, waiting for a topic to surface that strikes their fancy. Some tables are meant for review – filled with peer tutors who work with younger or struggling students to give them closer attention than the teachers can, and some of the tutors can even explain things better than the professors. Other tables are devoted to discussing particular subjects, to expanding on theories brought up in classes or textbooks.

Still more tables are filled with hot debates – generally something will have started out as a harmless discussion at one of the other tables, until two – or more – viewpoints grow more pronounced, or more contested. When this happens, the debaters will move to another table and start to hash out their subject matter, sometimes drawing complex diagrams and/or gaining a plethora of followers who will join in. The debates can last late into the night, or for days on end – until one person either is proven right or the other gives in. Debates don't just die out at the Ravenclaw tables – no one will rest until the answer is found, and rivalries can last for as long as necessary until that happens. The argument about hippogriff consciousness between Anthony Goldstein and Alyse Jackson has become legend.

In the spoken section there is also a table laden with snacks and tea, specifically reserved for the people who wake up at midnight with their brains overfilled and absolutely, desperately need a late-night snack and some time to think. Sometimes, groups of late-night wanderers will gather around the table and talk for hours. In the morning, coffee and a variety of potions for alertness are available for them.

There are always at least a few students on guard just inside the door to listen to the riddle being asked when students come to the door and are unable to answer. These students will discuss the riddle through the door so that the person who needs to enter is never without help. Sometimes, if the door senses that people are learning and if they come up with an answer that is acceptable, even if it's not quite _right_, it will take pity on the poor student and swing open to let that person inside, usually with a few tips as to where the reasoning is flawed.

The door itself is actually quite fascinating; if you're looking for someone with whom to discuss a point tirelessly for hours on end and can't find any other Ravenclaws who will – as uncommon an occurrence as that might be – the door will be happy to oblige. It can get insistent, though, and some Ravenclaws have developed a long-abiding resentment for that door. Still others love it, and it's not uncommon to see people chatting at the door at all hours of the night and day – because after all, the door has no commitments but letting people in.

Some Heads of Houses never visit their common rooms, but Professor Flitwick can often be seen in that of Ravenclaw. He actually has a special table designated for him – it's tall, so he can see everything that's going on, but the chair is also high. There's a stepladder so he can get to it and the floor around is protected by Cushioning Charms, just in case someone's experiment gets a little crazy and Professor Flitwick gets knocked off the chair (it's happened enough times to warrant the protection).

He does his grading at that table, or his research, but he wanders around the common room periodically, too. Sometimes he'll enter a debate, tossing in a point that no one has considered yet and then leaving to check on someone else, leaving everyone stunned at his brilliance. He also visits the tutoring tables regularly, so that if a tutor is unable to get a point across or they run into a question even the tutor doesn't know, he can supply helpful information or get someone who can.

The Ravenclaw common room sees more teacher interaction than any of the other rooms, because if Flitwick doesn't know something he'll often leave to fetch a professor who does. McGonagall comes often, to help with discussions about Transfiguration in particular, but she's pretty sharp on every subject. Professor Sprout comes in with Herbology help – and they love it when she comes, too, because she often brings exotic and unusual teas with her made from her (or others') rare plants. Even Professor Snape has come in once or twice, although that's rare. Once Slughorn starts teaching there, visits from a Potions professor are much more common.

The Ravenclaws don't generally party, and when they do, there's no or little alcohol involved. They pride themselves on their mental states and don't want to alter that, because after all, without their intelligence, what are they? However, there are some people who argue persistently and constantly that alcohol actually enhances the mind – those are people who get drunk when looking for new ideas, and there is a small section of the common room reserved for those who want to party. It's not usually very large, but people will go there, sometimes if only to try it out.

Those – and some others who are just interested in the theory – are the people who are most invested in creating a potion that will cure hangovers. In the mornings, those who have gotten drunk are always ready to try it out. Sometimes those potions have disastrous results – but other times, they're quite good.

There is, however, one huge and consistent party per year, and that takes place right after exams. Specifically, after O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, when the fifth and seventh years can finally exhale the stress that they've been sucking in for months and let loose.

Though the Ravenclaws don't often party, for that one, they don't hold back. There is butterbeer, mead, and firewhisky pre-ordered from the Three Broomsticks (to beat the rush), in bottles enchanted with Refilling Charms. There are sweets from Honeydukes, cakes and appetizers saved and stolen from the kitchen over long periods of time and charmed to stay fresh. This stash has been hoarded for months, and it's finally time to break it out – and so they do.

Professor Flitwick makes sure to stay away from the common room on the night following exams; he's familiar with the Ravenclaw tradition, having been part of it himself once. He will come in once, at two in the morning or so, and if anything dangerous is going on he'll make sure to put a stop to it and check that everyone is safe. If everything is fine, he'll give the obligatory "Go to bed" and leave, knowing full well that no one will be going to bed yet. After all, there are always the people who prefer not to drink, and those people are levelheaded and helpful enough to make sure that everyone is being safe.

Of course, before the party starts they make sure the younger kids are safe in the dormitories and that the common room is sealed with silencing charms so that they won't disturb anyone who wants it from much-needed sleep.

During the party, they try to stay away from any discussion of school or intellectual topics at all. This is supposed to be their time to free themselves of all those pressures. However, it usually doesn't work out this way. Generally, even during the party, groups will begin to form around the edges where people have begun – yet again – to discuss magical theory, philosophy, and all manner of new and old ideas. After all, Ravenclaws are Ravenclaws, and they can't stay away from intellectual pursuits for too long.

The Ravenclaw common room, on the whole, is a place of freedom, a place of adventure, if only mentally. It is a place where creativity flows freely, where new ideas are welcomed but tested, where boundaries between people break down, where everyone is united by a shared love of learning and understanding. It is a place for those of ready mind, where those of wit and learning will always find their kind.


End file.
